Steventon Cricket Club, situated in South Oxfordshire, has organised for 88 of its members to travel to Lord’s this summer for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final. The trip represents a celebration of the swift development of women’s and girls’ cricket at the club.
The group will include all female players from the club’s women’s and youth sides, alongside various coaches, official scorers, umpires, family members, and loyal supporters.
The club presently runs teams for girls across under-11, under-13, under-15, under-18, and under-19 age groups, as well as two women’s hardball sides and an occasional softball eleven. Merely a handful of years prior, the club possessed neither a junior cricket programme for any gender nor any women’s cricket whatsoever.
The drive to revive cricket in the village began in 2019, when Steventon Cricket Club coach Joe Bennett, motivated by England’s triumphs in the Men’s World Cup and the Ashes series, decided to gauge interest at the local primary school.
Mr. Bennett explained that they posted a notice on a Wednesday and held an introduction session by the following Friday, with approximately 40 children turning up, which demonstrated there was real appetite for the sport in the area.
This encouraging response led the club to establish a full junior programme in 2020, with participation reaching around 70 children by the conclusion of that summer.
A significant number of these participants were girls, resulting in the formation of a girls’ team in 2021.
During April 2021, the club approached a female coach from a nearby club to deliver taster sessions, with the first session drawing roughly 14 girls. The club’s under-15 girls’ side subsequently joined the Oxfordshire league.
The women’s and girls’ section continued to grow, with several mothers completing training as All Stars activators and establishing the first softball team.
In 2022, the club entered the Home Counties Women’s Cricket League, and after experiencing early challenges, has now achieved promotions in successive seasons.
The club originally arranged a women’s and girls’ trip to Lord’s in 2022 to watch an ODI between England and India. The excursion proved popular with over 50 members taking part, and the club has aimed to replicate that achievement since.
Significant excitement has built among members about the upcoming journey to the Women’s World Cup Final. The club obtained additional tickets to accommodate newcomers to the second women’s team, which was created during the winter period.
With women’s cricket experiencing considerable expansion both nationally and globally, Mr. Bennett voiced optimism that, with support from the club committee and the local community, the women’s and girls’ section at Steventon would continue its positive trajectory.